The legendary Ungaro wowed guests at the WIFW 2014 with his love for crafts and colour
By Asmita Aggarwal
He is a legendary French designer, who moved to Paris and reshaped the game of seduction for women in the 70s and 80 with his frothy cocktail gowns and a tribute to sensuality. Emanuel Ungaro was a guest at the WIFW Autumn-winter 2014, (invited by FDCI President Sunil Sethi), and took the fashion week to another level by his sheer humility, understanding of crafts and love for India. I think India is a vibrant country, dripping with colour and vivaciousness, he smiled.
Trained by the unmatchable Cristobal Balenciaga, Ungaro learnt the nuances of tailoring from his father, who taught him the biggest lesson in style. Be simple and understand what women want, he said to me. We are people from the Mediterranean, the fountain of inspiration warm hearted with a great love for cuts and textures and that somehow reflects in our clothes. We know how to mix monochromes, contrasting colours and prints together, he added.
Interestingly, Ungaro, understands what he calls, the liquidity of a sari and the innate grace it offers to the wearer; thats why he says what mesmerizes him about this drape is the movement it offers. I was born with a sense of colour, we never went to any school of fashion, life was the biggest teacher, he says.
Admiring masters like Christian Dior, Coco Chanel and of course the greatest architect of fashion Cristobal Balenciaga, Ungaro, with humility adds that, When you leave a label or sell it, the designer takes the soul along with him. That is enough to quieten many people who ask him what he thinks about the new heads of an empire to created from scratch.
His best selling perfume Diva was an effort to craft a dream fragrance for women, inspired by a leading actress of the time, Anouk Aimee. I saw the film A Man And A Woman, by Claude Lelouch, and I thought Anouk was simply amazing and embodied the spirit of the fragrance, he smiles.
After working for 40 years in fashion and selling off his company, Ungaro prefers the retired life and the joys it brings. I can travel, fashion involves a lot of suffering; it can cause anguish and pain when you are a creative person, trying to achieve your best, he concludes.